Talking about professionalism in the creative arts #spreadsheetsandmoxie

We think we’re great as we are.

We don’t need to be fixed.

But we do need to find new ways of using the strengths we have to support ourselves and our creative communities.

Thanks to everyone who came to last week’s talk about Spreadsheets & Moxie as part of the NCLA First Thursday series – either in person or watching the live broadcast.

A video of the hour-long talk (inc. Q&A) is available to watch online, and gives a whistle-stop overview of Sarah and my process over the past 6 months in approaching professionalism in the creative arts, how we’ve worked with our (audacious, daring, lively) Associate Artists in the North East and South East of England, some of the advice we’ve picked up along the way, Sarah walking round a labyrinth and a sneak preview at the early results of our online survey. We’re aiming to be a positive, honest voice for sustaining and developing a career in the creative arts and are always happy to answer any further questions people care to throw our way.

Sarah will be talking at a similar event in Kent in May, dates TBC.

Next steps for the project? We’re knee deep in our mid-way evaluation (I’m an analysis geek so this is seventh heaven for me), working on creative pieces from the Compton Verney residency (fast-forward to the end of the talk to hear me read the opening of a draft of mine), and beginning to think more solidly about what shape a follow-on might be when our R&D finishes in the summer. All this alongside our ongoing skill-sharing and letting our questioning minds range broadly across the wider issues.